Many of today’s Catholic parishes around Australia are led by priests from countries once thought of as ‘missionary lands’. Drawing from his African traditional communal heritage, and from Australian secular culture, Father Emmanuel Aguiyi reflects upon his experiences as a Nigerian priest working in modern-day Australian parishes.

In A Contemporary Missionary, Fr. Emmanuel explores the challenges, difficulties, and joys faced by a newly arrived priest in Australia. He tackles thorny issues like racism, feminism, and seminary training among others, and his reflections shine a light on this new ‘cultural norm’ in Catholic parishes, as well as offering an insightful critique of Australian culture today.

Additional information

ISBN

9780648232315

Dimensions

148mm x 210mm

By

Emmanuel Ikechukwu Aguiyi

Pages

180

Publisher

Morning Star Publishing

Publish date

24/1/2018

About the author

Jerryl Lowe served as the Senior Minister in parishes in NSW and Tasmania until his retirement in 2011. During his ministry, he was a Reserve Naval Chaplain with the Royal Australian Navy, an Area Dean of Prospect in the Sydney Diocese, and a member of the School Council of Tara Anglican School for Girls in Parramatta, NSW. Jerryl now lives with his wife, Elizabeth, in the Southern Highlands of NSW, and they have four adult children.

2 reviews for A Contemporary Missionary

Fr Emmanuel, after nearly a decade as a pastor in Australia, has written a fascinating account of the church and culture he found there, with all its similarities to and differences from his native Nigeria. His many insights and reflections will make it of interest to readers in both countries and beyond, especially to those who will follow in his footsteps as missionaries in a highly-secularised but spiritually hungry Australia.

There are very few books about missionary experiences of African Priests who are working in foreign lands. Fr Emmanuel Aguiyi has done a good work by writing about his ‘missionary journey’ in Australia. He candidly narrates the joys and challenges of working in a totally different cultural setting. He accepts the fact that adaptation “to a new culture could be as difficult as rocket science.” Yet, he challenges “every missionary to study the culture and worldviews of the people he works with.” Fr Aguiyi’s book gives practical examples from his personal experiences which makes this book all the more lively and interesting.